PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Agains.  We’re repeaters.  We’re habitual, routine people.  Life repeaters.  We were created to be orderly.  We do the same things over and over, again.  We (please, say I’m not alone) make the same mistakes, over and over, again.  We are creatures of habit, some good, some not so good.  Life for us is full of agains.   Do-overs.  The sun shines every day, again.  The moon rises every night, again.  And lately for us, the clouds roll, AGAIN!  The rain falls, AGAIN!  The streams rise, AGAIN!  Our basements flood, AGAIN!  We’ve had a lot of those agains this summer, haven’t we?

The Word of God is full of agains, of over and overs, of repetitions, repeats, reminders and one more times.  The word “again” is used over 1,500 times in the Bible.  Right off the top of my head several examples come to mind.  God rescued Israel, again and again.  God sent the plagues upon Egypt, again and again.  The prophets spoke the Word of God, again and again.  Despite who we are, what we are, or what we’ve done, God loves us, again and again.  God speaks to us, again and again, doesn’t He?

More agains.  Remember Isaac’s well story?  The Lord told Isaac to go where he was told.  Isaac would be a stranger in the land, but the Lord God would be with him and bless him.  Isaac obeyed.  The Lord guided Isaac to Gerar, the land of the Philistines, and that is where he settled.  Isaac’s crops and flocks were very successful.  The Philistines were intimidated by Isaac’s success and their King, Abimelech, told Isaac to skedaddle.  Since the Philistines had capped off all the wells, Isaac left Gerar proper and moved to the Gerar Valley and set up camp.

The wells dug by Father Abraham, that the Philistines had filled in after his death, were reopened.  Because of Isaac’s success as a herdsman, water was needed.  The Gerar Valley was actually located on the edge of a desert.  That tells you how precious water was.

His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring.  But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring.  “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen.  So Isaac named the well “Argument,” because they had argued about it with him.  Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it.  So Isaac named it “Opposition.”  Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone.  So Isaac called it “Room Enough,” for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive.”  Genesis 26:20-22.

I love this story – Argument.  Opposition.  Room Enough.  Third times a charm!  Isaac didn’t give up, he persevered.  Again, and again, and again. Over, and over, and over.  There’s a lesson for us here.  If at first you don’t succeed…

Brother Peter talks about agains a good bit too:

I plan to keep reminding you of these things – even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth.  Yes, I believe I should keep on reminding you of these things as long as I live.  But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered and I am soon to die.  So I will work hard to make these things clear to you.  I want you to remember them long after I’m gone.  2 Peter 1:12-14

Peter of all people knew about agains.  Remember, before the cock crows?   Again.  Again.  Again.  In the above scripture, Peter spoke as his time on this earth was drawing to a close.  He felt it necessary to remind.  Remind.  Repeat.  Say it again.

God of All knows about agains, he reveals his character to us through them.   He resisted Satan, again and again.  He preached, again and again.  He fed, again and again.  He healed, again and again.  He loves, again and again.  He was rejected, again and again.  He forgives, again and again.  I don’t know about you, but that is something I want to hear, again and again.

 

Remember trading as a kid?  You know, trading this pencil for this eraser in school?  Trading a friend this shirt for that shirt?  This piece of candy for a piece of gum?  Remember “trading cards?”  Pokemon cards?  In all these cases, you exchange something you don’t want for something you really want.  Trading something you value less for something you value more.

We’ve all traded something for something.  Maybe even something for nothing.  Think about your trades.  Have you ever regretted the trade?  What you got is not what you thought it was?   When you got it, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  What you traded was more valuable than what you traded for?

What’s she talking about you say?  I read this week in Genesis about Esau and Jacob.  This got me thinking about trading.  I’ve been thinking all week about my birthright and what I would  trade for it?

You may have heard about this famous trade.  This story about Esau and Jacob, the sons of Isaac and Rebekah.

One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt.  Esau said to Jacob: “I’m starved!  Give me some of that red stew you’ve made.”  Jacob replied, Al right, but trade me your birthright for it.”  “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau.  “What good is my birthright to me now?”  So Jacob insisted, “Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine.”  So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the first born to his younger brother.  Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew.  Genesis 25:27-33

Aaaah…the coveted birthright.  The subject of many a family feud.   As I understand it, the value of what Esau traded was not insignificant.  As the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau’s birthright would have been substantial.  According to law and custom, Esau would have received a double portion of all of Isaac’s possessions, and they were plentiful.  He would also have received authority as the eldest child in the family.  As part of these substantial possessions and authority, Esau would have stood to inherit the functions of the priesthood in the family, and the covenant promise of God.  Do you see what he traded for some beans and bread?  Do you see how huge this is?  Check this out:

The Lord stood saying: I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac.  The ground you are lying on belongs to you.  I will give it to you and your descendants.  Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth!  They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south.  All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants…  Genesis 28:13-14

Do you know who the Lord was talking to?  Jacob.  Do you know who the Lord should have been talking to?  Esau.  Esau blew it – big time!  Esau traded authority, possessions and most importantly the covenant promise of God.  The covenant promise first made to Abraham, then to Isaac, and then to Jacob.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each had to establish a personal relationship with God in order to receive the covenant promise, however, for a measly bowl of soup, Esau blew the opportunity.  Do you see how huge this is?   Hold on tight and follow me:

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of King David and of Abraham:  Abraham was the father of Isaac.

Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah and his brother

*****

David was the father of Soloman

*****

Matthan was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

Matthew 1:1-16

DO YOU SEE THAT?  I am so excited!!!   It’s the ultimate Treasure Hunt for the Kingdom!  Keep following:

And I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne.  There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and unroll it?”  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.  Then I wept because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll and read it.  But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has conquered.  He is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals.  Revelations 5:1-5

The fulfillment of God’s covenant promise made to Jacob:

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and though shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 28:14

Esau traded his birthright and The Messiah descended from Jacob, not from Esau.  God’s got a plan.

I am a child of God.  Adopted by God, through Jesus Christ.  That is my birthright.  That is your birthright.  Don’t trade your birthright for anything, because then you will have nothing.  Go ahead — accept the blessing.

Did you know there’re folks out there that are Biblical Numerologists?  What’s that you say?  Me too.  I found that it’s the study of numbers and their relationship to events in the Bible.  Those folks are able to relate specific Biblical events with specific numbers.  For instance, Jesus’s transfiguration on the Mount was witnessed by three people, John, Peter and James.  Jesus prayed three times in the garden before he was arrested.  There were fourteen generations from Abraham to King David, fourteen generations from King David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to the birth of the Messiah.  Who knew?  The Biblical Numerologists.  Anyway.  You get what I’m talking about.  Numbers are significant in the Bible or they wouldn’t be there.  Remember, God breathed.

I’m into numerology too.  I study numbers and their impact on my life.  Sounds a bit like the dark side, doesn’t it?  Palm reading, tarot cards, and lucky lottery numbers, right?  Wrong.  I’m not into that kind of numerology.

I’m into egg numerology.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it.  Haven’t you counted your chickens before they hatched?  I count the number of eggs I get each day and make a mental note.  Simple as that.  She’s lost her mind, you say and quite right you are, just not about egg numerology.  You know we have these seven chickens, my girls.  Each evening when I go to the barn, with great anticipation I count the number of eggs I gather.  Egg numerology.  What else would you call it?  The number of eggs my girls lay has a direct impact on the number of egg sandwiches we will eat at our house.  See.

It would stand to reason that with seven chickens I would get seven eggs.  That’s just not how it works though.  Some days I get six eggs.  Some days I get four eggs.  Yesterday I got three eggs.  Three eggs from seven chickens.  I have a few slackers. So, daily, I count.

When I think of numbers in the Bible, my mind quickly goes to this verse:

And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flocks of sparrows.  Luke 12:7

He knows the very number of hairs on my head.  Think about that.  Did you know the average human head loses 50-100 hairs a day.  That’s just gross, I know.  Here’s the point.  The hairs on my head change daily, hourly, minutely – by the numbers.  Do you know what that means?  It means that the God of the Universe, the Creator of All finds me so valuable that He knows when I lose a hair on my head, or when one grows in.  It means that every time my hair count changes, He knows about it!  But, it’s not my hair that’s significant.  If he cares about the insignificant things about me enough to take note of them, how much more does He care about the significant things that have to do with me.  Me, Beth, and you too.  Because He cares that much for me, I need have no fear.  He cares so much that:

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. Psalm 103:3-4

Do you know what ransom means?  Ransom is a price paid.  It means a rescue from punishment.  It means deliverance.  It means redemption.  Ransom, the price paid to release a slave from bondage.  I’m the slave and sin is my bondage.  Without Him, there is no deliverance from my sins which are too numerous to count.

For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.  Matthew 21:28

So, here’s a little of Beth’s Biblical Numerology for you…there’s a direct connect between my sin, my bondage, and Christ.  My sins and the sins for all were paid for by a Thirty-Three year old, the One and only child of God, on One Cross in Three Days.

I’ve been thinking about friendships a lot lately.  We all got ‘em.  There are so many different types of friendships, levels of friendships.

There’s the fast friend — the person you meet once and there’s an instant connection.  There’s the Facebook friend – someone who tells you all their business, but you don’t really know them or care that they’re headed to the grocery store.  The frequent friend – the one you see every day that knows most about your life.  The favorite friend – your go-to friend.  The forever friend – the one you’ve known forever and no matter the miles you know that person is a friend.  The flighty friend – the one who only calls when there’s a problem.   The finkish friend – the one who texts you and when you respond they never text back.  The fun friend – the one you laugh with.   The fanatic friend – the one you hide from sometimes because of their stalking tendencies.  The forgiving friend – the one that forgives you more than you deserve.  The faithful friend – the one who sticks by you, no matter what.  The fan friend – the one who cheers loudest for you.  The fellowship friend – just being together, no words necessary because you already know what the other will say.  The finder friend – the one who tracks you down after years.  The family friend – the sister who shares your heart.  There are so many more kinds of friends, but you get the picture.  Take a minute to think of your friends.

There’s my basement skating friend.  Yep.  We roller skated as kids in my parents’ basement.  Neither of us was very good, but it didn’t matter.  We were together.

There’s my always an adventure friend.  The one who ran for a broom (not to ride) when the mouse jumped out of the tack box right at my face!

There’s the national tragedy friend.  The one who is the answer to the “where were you when” question, with an inexplicable bond that can never be erased.

There’s my for keeps, no matter what, complete your sentences friend.

There’s the sister friend.  The one who shares my parents, my life.  Boundless love.

The daughter friend.  The holder of my heart.

As I thought about my friends, I also thought of the kind of friend I am.  Honestly, I’m all the above, and more.  I have been a fast friend, a frequent friend, a favorite friend, a forever friend, a flightly friend, a finishisk friend, a fanatic friend, a faithful friend, a fan friend and a finder friend.  I’ve been a good friend and a really bad friend.  I tell folks I’m not a very good friend, and it’s true.  I don’t know about you all, but I struggle sometimes stepping out of my own world – I’ve been told it’s not all about me (tsk! tsk!) – and stepping into someone else’s world.   That’s what friends do.

Friendships are hard because we(me) are…well, complicated.  I don’t know that God made us complicated, maybe complex, but I think sin makes us complicated.  Here’s what I mean.  The reason I’m sometimes not a good friend isn’t because of my friend, it’s because of me.  See it is all about me!  I’m selfish.  Ugh!  You too?   I think most (all?) of our problems in life (don’t throw stuff at me) arrive when we only think of ourselves.  What we want.  What we say.  What we want to do.  Friends are an assault on ourselves.  Good friends, not Facebook friends (again, don’t throw stuff at me) make us get beyond ourselves.  They require something of us.

There is another kind of friend that can heal and encourage all our friendships, who can help us get beyond ourselves to eternity – the Father Friend.

For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.   Romans 5:10-11

Christ’ death on the cross has made us friends of God.  Blood brothers.  Soul mates.  It is only by His special favor that we have been saved.

…A new life has begun!  All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did.  And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.  2 Corinthians 5:18

As followers of Christ, our task is to tell our friends of Him.  Who do we need to talk to?

My husband, Tony.   Most of you know “my man.”  Tony is going through a job transition in his workplace.  A job opportunity came up within his company.  He applied for it.  He got the position. Tony did what most prudent folks do when a new opportunity comes up – he prayed.  Most prudent folks also evaluate the new position and make a list of pros and cons.  Even if you haven’t set it to paper, I’m sure you’ve at least made a mental list when faced with a big decision.  On Tony’s list, the pros beat out the cons.  You know the typical pros – good opportunity, more time at home, still work with people he loves, a new adventure, a new laptop.  He also had the typical cons – learning new job, change from the same ol same ol, more commitment initially, change, a smart phone.

You probably think that sounds funny, a smart phone as a con.  Who wouldn’t want a smart phone, the latest in technology?  Tony.  You see, Tony has a dumb phone, a flip phone – egad, gasp!  Yep, they still make them – who knew?  If you know Tony, you can clearly hear him say: “Why should I pay for a phone when this one is provided to me free and it does the job?”  He loves this phone.  When it chirps, he’s like a gunslinger with a tie down, right out of a Louis L’Amour book.  He grabs it out of his pocket and with a flick of the wrist, that only Tony can do (although Jon is a great imitator of this action) he flips it open!  Hello, this is Tony.  Quick draw Tony leaves all other flippers of the flip phone in the dust.  He is content with this flip phone for two reasons.  First, he doesn’t have to pay for it.  Second, it does what he needs it to do.  This flip phone is provided by his employer in order for him to do his job.  This flip phone is the right tool for the job.  With this new job though, all of that is about to change.

Yesterday, Tony came home from work and advised he had to go to York for a day of training for his new job.  I asked what kind of training.  He grinned – cell phone app training.  What?  He smiled and said – it’s training for a cell phone app.  I laughed – hard.  Isn’t that hilarious?  Tony is going to a cell phone app training class!  It’s hilarious because he has a flip phone – an app-less phone – it’s not even an app-able phone.  Smile.  Tony has to get a new cell phone because he doesn’t have the right tool for the job.  He needs to get the right tool for the job.

Let’s turn to the Word…In Bible times, folks were identified by their tribe name, their father’s name, or their occupation or job.    Rahab the prostitute.  Deborah the judge.  Joseph the carpenter.  Matthew the tax collector.  Simon the tanner.  God the Father.  Jesus the Son.  Holy Spirit the Counselor.

Jobs and occupations can be important, they can be descriptive of who we are, what we do, what we’re interested in.  Each job requires certain tools and it’s important that we have the right tools for the job.  Look at the examples above.  What tools did they use in their jobs or occupations?  Rahab – hmmm, we’ll skip that one.  Deborah – the Book of Law, a gavel.  Joseph the carpenter – wood, nails, hammer, and a band aid.  Matthew the tax collector – a pen, some papyrus, and a bank bag.  Simon the tanner – some hides, some salt, and a clothes pen.  God the Father, Jesus the Son, Holy Spirit the Counselor — outrageous love, a gracious and merciful heart, a forgiving spirit, a cross, wisdom, encouragement, and a world of misfit followers.

Although Jesus doesn’t have a worldly job or an occupation like we do, His job is far greater.  Jesus is God’s tool to save the world.  Jesus is Our Savior.

For God so loved he world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  John 3:16-17

If God sent Jesus to save us, if Jesus is our Savior, what is our job and what tools do we need to accomplish that job?  Let’s try it.  Fill in your name.  _________ the Christian.  Beth the Christian.  When I see that on paper, I feel so woefully inadequate.  All my mistakes and sins seem to flash before my eyes.  You too?  The truth is, I am woefully inadequate.  But, He is not.  If I am His, His Spirit is living in me, and He gives me every tool I need to complete each task of my job – forgiveness, grace, mercy, boldness.  Beth the Christian – Beth the Follower of Christ – Beth the Liver of Eternal Life – Beth the Disciple.  Knowing Jesus and sharing Him with others is my job.  He has given me all the tools that I need.  You too.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning, after coffee, of course?  One of the first things I do is check the weather.  Why?   Because I need to know what to wear, how to dress.  Whether we are getting kids off to school, headed to the barn, headed to work, headed to the store, to the doctor, or wherever else we might go, we generally check the weather first.

I’ve wondered what the weather was like the morning that Mary and Martha ran to the tomb of Jesus – you know, on the Third Day.  We don’t really know the answer to that, I don’t think, I’ve just wondered.  Am I the only one?  Our best information is that Jesus was crucified, died, buried, and arose again probably in the month of April.  April in Jerusalem could have seen temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70’s.  It’s just a curiosity thing for me.  Of course, in their time, they generally wore the same thing day after day, robes.

Have you ever thought about what you wear on a day-to-day basis?  What’s your style?  What do you put on?  Fitted.  Flared.  Casual.  Chic.  Sophisticated.  We’ve been talking a lot of style around our house lately.  Livi’s getting married next year and we’ve been talking wedding gown styles.  Mermaid.  A-line.  Trumpet.  Ballgown.  Etc.

Have you ever thought about what you wear to Church?  I’m not talking about standing in front of your closet trying to figure out if you wore that same shirt last week or if this tie matches this jacket.  I’m talking about what we really wear.  What clothes do we wear to Church?

The Book of Exodus is a memoir of the Israelites escape from captivity from Egypt and the progression of their formation as a nation – as the people belonging to God.   Believe it or not, in the Book of Exodus God gave the Israelites instructions on what to wear to Church – very specific instructions.

Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for Aaron’s head in the middle of it.  The opening will be reinforced by a woven collar so it will not tear.  Make pomegranates out of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and attach them to the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.  The gold bells and pomegranates are to alternate all the way around the hem.  Aaron will wear this robe whenever he enters the Holy Place to minister to the Lord, and the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the Lord’s presence.  If he wears it, he will not die.  Exodus 28:31-35

Ok, I don’t know about you, but I’d be wearing me a blue robe with some pomegranates and bells on the sleeves.  God ordered that Aaron and his sons would be set apart to minister and serve him and the robe was just part of the clothing for the priests.  Pomegranates and bells were to be alternated around the hem “and the bells would tinkle,” or chime.  The King James Version says:  “and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord.”  The word sound comes from the Hebrew word “qol” which means sound or voice.

Can you visualize that?  A royal blue robe with colorful decorations and gold bells hanging on the hem.  How beautiful.   That’s not all, God had a matching royal blue turban made to complete the ensemble.

Attached to Aaron’s turban by a blue cord was a medallion made of pure gold.  The medallion was inscribed with these words:  “SET APART AS HOLY TO THE LORD.”  Aaron was to always wear the robe and turban so that the children of Israel might be acceptable to God.   This was a reminder to Aaron and the other priests that God is Holy and that they must be holy.

Just as Aaron was set apart to serve God – so are we.  How do we serve God?  By serving others.  Just as Aaron was set apart as holy to the Lord – so are we.  So, are we dressed for service?  When we are out and about serving God, do they hear the tinkling of the bells on the hem of our service garments?

Do we wear holy?   Do we look like we’ve been consecrated in God’s service?  Do we look like we’ve been chosen?  Not in our dress, but in our attitude?  Do our words speak holy?  Are our words encouraging or judgmental?  Do our bells tinkle with patience?  Does love hang from our robe?

Be holy, because I am holy.  1 Peter 1:16

Aaron wore the robe every time he entered the Holy Place to minister to the Lord, and the bells tinkled as he went in and out of the Lord’s presence.  Knowing Jesus makes us constantly in the presence of the Lord because His Spirit is living in us.  Is that not the holiest place of all – in the presence of God?  Aaron dressed so he would not die.  The veil was torn so that we might live!

Look at that.  See it?  Look real close.  That’s right!   It’s a lightening bug.  It is the strangest thing.  Shenandoah and I take a walk early in the mornings, usually around 5:45.  It’s pitch black.  We walk back and forth up and down the paved road that leads to our house.  It’s probably about a quarter of a mile long.  Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  If you have a lab, you get it.  Anyway.  For the past week or so I’ve noticed something really intriguing.  Lightening bugs.

These lightening bugs line either side of the paved road.  I mean, a bunch of them.  This is weird to me.  I don’t ever remember noticing lightening bugs in the morning, only at night.  Remember as a kid, on hot summer evenings, catching them in a glass jar, making a lantern of sorts?  I do.  But, I don’t remember ever seeing lightening bugs in the morning.  It’s really very cool to see.  They sit there in the grass flashing their lights on and off.  Since they’re on both sides of the road, it’s almost like they’re watching a parade.  You know how folks line the streets for a parade?  This is the Shenandoah Parade.

As we walk back and forth, and back and forth, I begin to think about their lights.  Although these lights aren’t as bright as the solar sidewalk lights, it is such a cool thing to see.  I know I’m walking on the road because the surface is paved, but I also know I’m walking on the road because the lightening bugs are lining the path.  I know I’m on the road because of the firefly light.  Remind you of anything?  How do you know you’re on the path?  How do you see your path?

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

The fireflies light our way in the darkness, until light dawns.  In the same way, the Word of God speaks to us and lights our way in the darkness until our light, Jesus, comes.  That’s way cool!

Have you ever noticed how bright a small light shines in the darkness?    Think about the stars, take a peek at them.  A tiny, bright light, shining against a black backdrop.  How far away is that light?  The second closest star (because the sun is considered a star), is 4.24 light years away.  What the heck does that mean?  In a nutshell, to travel to the Proxima Centauri would take you about 20 years – yep years!  That tiny, tiny star that shines so brilliantly in the dark, is about 20 years away and it outshines the darkness.  You don’t see the darkness because of the light.  Think on that.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path.  Psalm 119:105

The Word of God.  Do we need it?  Do we use it?  Does it light our path?  How will we find our way through the darkness of the world without the Light of the World?  If a tiny star can shine so brightly, just think how much more vivid the Word of God will shine in our dark world.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is theopneustos.  Theos means God.  Pneo means to breathe.  The scriptures are inspired by God, breathed by God!  Paul doesn’t tell Timothy that “some” of the scripture, or the parts he “agrees with” are theopneustos.  He tells Timothy “all” scripture is theopneustos.  All scripture is God breathed.  His Word that is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path.

We have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets.  Pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a light shining in a dark place – until the day Christ appears and his brilliant light shines in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy.  It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.  2 Peter 1:19-20

The Word of God shines in the darkness.  Just like the fireflies lit my path, God’s Word will light our path in this world.  We must have God’s Word to teach us and rebuke us, to tell us of His character.  We’re all on a journey.  We’re all going somewhere.  The Good News is that we get to choose how we make our way through the darkness of the world.   In Him, there is no darkness.  Choose Jesus.

 

Our sweet momma recently got hearing aids.  She didn’t know she couldn’t hear.  You see, a couple of years back mom had to have chemotherapy treatment for cancer.  The type of cancer mom had was extremely rare.  Mom was literally one-in-a-million.  You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right?  Duh!   Treatment options were bounced around and chemotherapy was decided to be the best go.  Miraculously, our momma was healed – Praise Be to God!  As we all know, chemotherapy has its benefits but it is not without its effects (affects or effects, I always get those mixed up).

One of the possible effects of the chemotherapy is tinnitus – a constant ringing in the ears.  Yep.  Momma has that.  I have several friends who suffer with tinnitus for various reasons, and it can be absolutely maddening.  The ringing can be very loud, or very soft.  It can be constant or it can come and go.  It can be high pitched or very low.  Mom has a very loud, high pitched, constant ringing in her ears.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition.  There is, however, a treatment that may help.  Hearing aids.

That sounds so oxymoronish doesn’t it?  You already have this maddeningly loud sound in your ears and you want to add louder sounds to it?  Yep.  Mom went to see Lindsay, an audiologist, for possible hearing loss.  Unbeknownst to her, the hearing loss was significant although she didn’t realize it because of that darn ringing in her ears.  How can you tell you can’t hear when you can hear because it’s too loud?

Let me try to explain – I hope I get this right, Lindsay!  The hearing aids cannot improve the tinnitus, but they can improve our hearing.  Basically, amplifying the “good sounds” and making them well, audible, can teach our brains to somewhat override the “bad sounds,” the ringing, and just focus on the “good sounds.”  Make sense?  We’ve all been in that situation, maybe in a loud crowd, that you can’t decipher sounds, you just know it’s loud.  For instance, a football game.  You hear a loud crowd, but you may not be able to decipher what each person is saying, it’s just a roar.  Or the sanctuary before the worship service starts.  You can hear a low roar of voices but you cannot hear conversations.  That’s kind of how it is with some hearing loss.  So, since your brain only hears the roar and nothing distinguishable, it focuses in on the ringing making it sound louder.  Here’s the help – amplifying sounds that you hear externally and giving them clarity actually can teach your brain to focus more on what you can hear and less on the ringing.  It doesn’t make the ringing go away, it just trains our brain to focus on what is clear.

You see where this is going, right?  Amplification of the right sounds can help drown out the noise of the wrong sounds.  So what are some right sounds?  What is music to your ears?   Birds singing.  Music (lyrics pending) playing.  Crickets.  Faith.  Sweet voices of little ones.  Conversations with people you love.  Communion.  Cattle lowing.  Hope.  Babies cooing.  The Word of God.  All of these beautiful sounds, when we hear them clearly, can help reduce those unfavorable noises that are all around us.  What are some of those unfavorable noises?  Anger.  Separation.  Meanness.  Shouting.  Dogs barking.  Arguing.  Discontent.  Pride.  Disruptions.  Dissension.  Anxiety.  Depression, or anything in this world that takes our focus off the Word of God, the character of God, the deeds of God, the precepts of God.  Anything in our lives that clamors for our attention, that steals our focus, that comes across louder than Him, makes us unable to hear Him with clarity.

Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees.  The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?”  Genesis 3:8

How incredibly cool is this?  He spoke!  He called to Adam and Eve in the garden.  Where Are You?  Where Are You?  Guess what?  He says the same thing to us – Where Are You?  Where Are You?  But, if we allow the ringing to overcome us, we can’t hear Him!

We tend to think he doesn’t speak in our time, but I think it’s more we simply don’t (choose not) hear.  So, how do we hear more of Him and less of the world?  What do we do?  We use hearing aids – unceasing prayer, disciplined study of the Word, godly friends to help us grow.  These things all help us to hear God more clearly.  The bigger God is, the smaller the world is.  More of Him, less of me.  Silence the world and hear God.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain.”…The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.  Exodus 24:16

Again, God called…come.

She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.  Matthew 1:21

Through His Angel, God spoke.

This is my beloved Son…Mark 1:11

God speaks.

Come unto me…Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus calls.

Come, be my disciples…Mathew 4:19

Again, Jesus calls.

Did you hear that?  Over and over He calls, if we but have ears to hear.

If we use the tools He provided us, His voice will become louder, more clear.  Hearing the right things clearly will overpower the unfavorable things.  Are there some unfavorable things in our lives that are causing us to not be able to hear God?  Do we need God to be louder and speak clearly to us?  Are you listening to the ringing in your ears or are you using the hearing aids He has provided?

We purchased our current home about four months before we actually moved in.  We had some renovations done in order to make it not just a house, but our home.  When folks asked where our new home was, we were able to point them to the mountain and say at the foot of those three, now four, cell towers.  It’s amazing how far away those cell towers can be seen.  You can see those towers from a good 20 miles in the county.   It’s such a comfort that even when we’re not home, we just look for the towers and feel home.  There’s something about the feeling of where we live, isn’t there?  We may travel, we may roam, but there’s no place like home.  Where we live reflects who we are, doesn’t it?

What do we do when we meet someone for the first time?  We greet them.  Tell them our name.  Ask them their name.  Ask about their life – what do you do? do you have family? – and the question we’ve all been asked — where do you live, where is your home?   If it’s someone we haven’t seen for a while the question is – where you living now?

Tony and I traveled earlier this year and upon arriving home, there was a sign on our front door – it’s still there as a reminder – Welcome Home!  Livi missed us when we weren’t home and we missed being home.  There’s just something about the comforts of home – Home Sweet Home.  It’s a place we’re always anxious to leave and always anxious to get back to.  Home, whether a place or a feeling is like that for all of us.  We all have a “home” somewhere.  A place where our hearts live, a way in which our hearts live.

Have you ever wondered where Jesus lived, where He considered home?   Bethlehem?  Jerusalem?  Jesus said:  “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  Matthew 8:20.  Well, that takes care of the first question.  Looks like Jesus’s home was wherever He was.  Could we be “home” wherever we are?

Remember when Jesus was about 12 and his family traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival?  After the festival, his family, along with a really large caravan of travelers, set out to return home.  I imagine the travelers were beatin’ feet.  They had been gone for some time and were probably anxious to get back home to tend their tents, to get back into a routine.  But, their beat feet came to a screeching halt when Mary and Joseph discovered Jesus was not in the caravan.  I always wondered if Mary and Joseph felt the same way my Mom used to feel when I got lost in Rocky Ridge Meat Market.  Only Jesus had been missing for a day, not seconds.  He was not one aisle over, He was a few towns away.  It took mom one loud shout to find me.  It took Mary and Joseph three days to find Jesus.  Did anyone else have the same thought I had?   How in the world do you lose Jesus?  I mean, think about it.

When they found Jesus, He answered the “Where have you been?” question this way:

Wist ye not that I must be in My Father’s house?

Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?

You should have known that I would be in Father’s house.

Luke 2:49

Jesus’s first spoken words were about His Father.  Ponder that.   Jesus was in His Father’s house — physically and spiritually.  This made me think about where I am.  Where I live.  Where I dwell.  Where do I reside and abide?  Where does my mind live?  Where do my thoughts dwell?  Where does my heart home?  Where do I pitch my physical and spiritual tent?

Where our hearts and minds live, abide, reside, and dwell is where we live.  Maybe not where we bed down, or maybe so, but where we really live – where we conduct the Father’s business.

In his book My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers asked the question “Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house in me?”   Is the Holy Spirit living in me?

Psalm 84 is all about where we are to live — in the presence of God.

How lovely is your dwelling place.

O Lord Almighty.

I long, yes, I faint with longing

To enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being, body and soul,

I will shout joyfully to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home there.

and the swallow builds her nest

and raises her young –

at a place near your altar,

O Lord, Almighty, my King and my God!

How happy are those who can live in your house,

always singing your praises.

Psalm 84:1-4

Where have we built our nest?  Do we live in the presence of God?  Do we cozy up to the altar?  Do we dwell with the Most High?  Do we live in His house?

Look at Luke 2:49 again.   It says: “Wist ye not that I might be about my Father’s business?”  Aha!  Being, living, dwelling, abiding, residing in my Father’s house has a direct connection to how I conduct my Father’s business.  Where we live has a direct connection with how we live or who we live.    Are our lives about the Father’s business?  Can others look at us and see we’re in our Father’s house, we’re about His business?  Do our lives reflect where we live?  Is Jesus in the house?

Look at that big momma!  Ain’t she a beauty?  That’s my pumpkin plant.  Yep, right in my front yard.  I love pumpkins.  I don’t know what it is about them.  Maybe it’s the reminder of fall.  Maybe because their color is so rich.  Maybe because they’re just kind of goofy looking – bumpy, lumpy, misshapen.  I don’t know why – I just love them.

This pumpkin plant is special to me.  I’ve always wanted to grow pumpkins, but have had very little, actually, no success.  I’ve planted pumpkins three different times, using three different techniques, in three different places on our property.  The first time, I dug up the soil, carefully placed the pumpkin seeds in holes two feet apart, and mounded the soil on top of them – that’s what the package said.  They never came up.   The second time, I tried the “container method.”  Starting from seeds, I dug a hole, placed the seeds in the hole in a container.  After the plant became strong and mature, I was going to remove it from the container and place it in the ground.  It never came up.

My third attempt was successful, as you can see.  I got a pumpkin last year at Orr’s Farm Market. It sat on my porch through fall and when it started to cave in a little I thought I’d try to harvest my own seeds.  Maybe that was the problem with my other two attempts.  You know, GMO.  So, I harvested my own pumpkin seeds.  It was a painstaking task, ahem.  I picked this caving pumpkin up – if you’ve ever waited too long to remove your pumpkin you know what happened.  It turned to mush in my hands and I dropped it beside my front porch.  I had every intention of going out and cleaning it up.   You know what they say about good intentions…As the story goes  – fall became winter, winter became spring, spring became summer, and summer became pumpkin!  A pumpkin plant right in my front yard!  My very own victory garden!

I am so excited about this pumpkin plant.  It really is huge, probably about 8×10 and it continues to grow.  As you can see, it overtook my rooster, it has overtaken my sidewalk, and I have no doubt it will continue through the front yard to the road in front of our house.  The leaves are so big you could use them as umbrellas.  The blooms are gorgeous, brilliant orange.  It looks so healthy.  There’s hope!

There’s only one small problem – it has no pumpkins.  Not a one.  Zero.  Zilch.  Zip.  Nadda.  Oh, it started out on the right path. We had one pumpkin about four weeks ago.  It got to be about six inches in diameter well on its way to Great Pumpkin fame!  One day I walked outside and my Great Pumpkin had started to rot.  Aaahhh!!!  My neighbors heard that.  Anyway,  I have this massive, beautiful pumpkin plant and no pumpkins.  Folks, I got no fruit.  We’ve theorized about the lack of fruit.  Too wet?  Definitely not too dry!  Bad seeds?  They came from last year’s perfect pumpkin.  Not the right soil?  Look at those healthy leaves and the size of that thing and tell me the soil’s not right.  Lack of pollination?  Haven’t seen bee one.  There’s only one explanation – it’s not getting something it needs to produce fruit.  Duh, you say.  Now I’m no horticulturalist so I don’t really know what the problem is, I just know there’s a problem.  To be honest, I don’t care what the problem is, I just want pumpkins!  A colorful, beautiful, lush, fruit bearing plant is no good without fruit!  A pumpkin plant has one job in life — to produce pumpkins.

Paul tells us, just like the pumpkin plant purpose, our lives too are to be all about the fruit:

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Here there is no conflict with the law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Galatians 5:22-25

Do we have fruit?  What’s our fruit look like?  Ouch – get off my toes!

You see, there are two forces at work in our world.  Sin (evil) and God (good).  Our sinful nature, which leads to death (destruction) and our Spirit nature, which leads to life (eternal fruit producing life).  When we follow the desires of our sinful nature (our old life) we cannot follow the desires of the Spirit (our new life).  If we do, we are not changed.

So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.  But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.  Galatians 5:16-18

Our sinful nature is in direct contradiction to our Spirit life.  Our sinful nature is what the law speaks against.  The law that’s designed to protect us.   The law has never been able to change our sinful hearts.   Only Christ’s sacrifice on that cross could offer freedom from the law.   People thought they could gain acceptance by God by being obedient to the commandments, by following the rules.  Impossible!  You see it’s about the heart – it’s about the Spirit.  Our sinful nature cannot produce fruits of the Spirit.  Only changed hearts and the indwelling of the Spirit can produce good fruit – the Great Pumpkin!  If we are being ruled by our sinful nature (it’s all about me) and not by our Spirit nature (it’s all about God) we will not produce the fruits of the Spirit.

If our hearts are changed, we will want to keep his law, not to gain His acceptance, but out of our great love for Him.  In Psalm 40:8, David wrote “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”  If our hearts are changed, our lives are changed.  If our hearts are changed, the Holy Spirit is in control.  If the Holy Spirit is in control, we produce good fruit, Holy Spirit controlled fruit!

In Romans, Paul quotes King David from the Psalms when he says there is no one perfect, “not even one!”  But that does not give us an out.  Matthew 5:48 says:  “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  We cannot be flawless, completely without fault, but we are to make it our goal to be as much like Christ as possible.  When we do, the fruit appears.

So, I ask again:  Do we have fruit?  Have we turned from our sinful nature to the Spirit nature?  What’s our fruit look like?  Have we nailed our passions and the desires of this world to His Holy Cross?   The ways of the world are very wily.  The world will tell us it’s enough to have beautiful, healthy looking leaves – to be big and powerful — and to have beautiful blooms.  That’s a lie.  The world doesn’t care about our fruit.  The forces of the world don’t want us to have fruit.  Have we given the Spirit full reign to produce good fruit within us or do products of the sinful nature still appear in our lives?